More Than Women’s Rights -Women’s March On Washington

This past weekend I attended the Women’s March on Washington in Washington DC and what I initially thought was a march about women’s rights I quickly discovered was about much more.

What will go down in history as the largest inauguration protest, the Women’s March on Washington had an estimated 2.6 million protesters worldwide who collectively voiced their concerns regarding women’s rights and the rights of other marginalized communities that many fear may be in danger under the new Trump Administration. The march took place January 21, 2017 at 1PM. Prior to the march was a rally that included various speakers and performers. In Washington DC alone it was estimated that nearly 500,000 protesters marched across the National Mall wearing pink knitted beanies with pussy cat ears chanting rhymes, such as “hey hey ho ho Donald Trump has got to go” or “we need a leader not a creepy tweeter” and carrying anti-Trump signs. If there was one thing everyone had in common it was their disapproval of President Trump who had been president for less than 24 hours. Talk about a way to begin the first day on the job.

 

Protesters carried signs that read “Pussy Bites Back” “Girls Just Want To Have Fundamental Rights”, “Pussy Power”, and “Pussies In Formation”. Hey, who other to cite than the Queen Bee herself who slays and stays releasing tracks empowering women (Pretty Hurts, Run the World, Single ladies, need I say more). However, as I marched among the crowd it became apparent that the march was more than just a march for women’s rights, but human rights.

The precedence of “human rights” is important because it delivers a sense of inclusion. In other words, human rights do not only apply to women’s rights and women’s rights do not only focus on reproductive rights. The march included protestors that brought awareness to a myriad of social issues, such as environmental protection, healthcare reform, freedom of religion, immigration and racial justice. One of my favorite signs was a sign held by a woman and read “Black Lives Matter, Love Is Love, Religion Is Not a Crime, No Human Is Born Illegal, Her Rights Are Human Rights”.  This sign so beautifully embodied exactly what the Women’s March represented. Overall the Women’s March on Washington was a liberating experience and I am pleased I had the opportunity to participate in a day that will go down in history.

Some Backlash

1. The march was a waste of time because protesting is ineffective

 As liberating as the march was it received some criticism. For starters, some felt the protest served no purpose given Donald Trump was already president. This is a view-point I have encountered in the past toward past black lives matter protest and is one I do not agree with. I have conversed with people who view protesting as pointless because they feel it brings no real change.

For instance, when it was announced Donald Trump was the new president-elect in November 2016, millions of protesters throughout the country protested refusing to acknowledge Trump as their president. I know y’all remember the “Not My President” protest which resulted in days of blocked roads and traffic jams. Who could forget, the country was in an UPROAR. Many even graciously hoped the results would be overturned the following month when the electors voted. Clearly, that did not happen. I can list multiple examples of black lives matter protest (Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice to name a few) following the death of a black man or woman at the hands of a police officer where the outcome is habitually the same, NOT GUILTY. The few times when protesting seems to be working, such as with the case of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the halt of the Dakota Access pipeline, the country is once again reminded of the resemblance between President Trump and Darth Vader and we are all trapped in an altering universe awaiting our fate by the death star. Okay, okay maybe that’s not exactly the case and maybe this isn’t a good time to insert my overly dramatic thoughts because the fact remains that, unfortunately, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their many supporters have not won the battle their protest aimed to achieve.

So, with the numerous examples of how protesting has failed I can understand, although I do not agree, how some deem protesting as ineffective . However, my response to this opposition is quite simple. For the numerous times protesting has been unsuccessful, on a grand scheme, there have been monumental times where it has successfully brought substantial social change. If blacks in the 1950’s and 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement decided protesting was ineffective African-Americans would have never gained legal equality of our constitutional rights (yes racial injustice still exist, but y’all get what I’m trying to say). Women would not have the right to vote if it was not for the Women’s Rights Movement. There have been many movements that have involved protesting. A movement does not produce change overnight, but takes years of dedication and failed attempts. An understanding recent generations lack. Slow and steady wins the race people, SLOW and STEADY.

2. The exclusion of pro-life women

 When thinking of women’s reproductive rights one common debatable issue is abortion. Abortion has been a controversial issue since the 1970s when the Supreme Court ruled it legal in the case of Roe vs. Wade in 1973. Since this ruling some women have made it their mission (yes, I am excluding men because I strongly believe men should have no say regarding a women’s reproductive organs) to advocate for pro-life or pro-choice. Given pro-choice is usually associated with defending women’s reproductive rights pro-life feminist felt they were not allowed to participate in the Women’s March and for the few that did participate some were subjected to harassment.

By no means do I agree with any form of harassment and I recognize that pro-life feminist include women who not only advocate for antiabortion, but also other social justice issues and thus, should have been included in the march. However, let’s keep it real. The pro-life protesters present at the march were predominantly advocating PRO-LIFE. They were advocating pro-life at a protest whose overall mission is to : “stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of OUR RIGHTS, our safety, our health, and our families”.

When I read “our rights” I think of current rights we as Americans already have that are potentially at risk under the new Trump Administration. Current rights such as the right to safe and legal abortion. Thus, it is no surprise to me that some women during the Women’s March felt some type of way toward pro-life protesters. They did not align with the mission of the march. That’s like going to a vegan party that’s mission is to promote veganism and advocating the importance of meat-eating. Everyone at that party would have the right to give you the side eye on some “come again”? Bruh you at the wrong party. And that’s exactly my take on the pro-life protesters advocating pro-life at the Women’s March. Y’all simply were at the wrong party.

Angela Peoples holding sign (photographer Kevin Banatte) Source: www.theroot.com

3. Where were white feminist during black lives matter protest

If you attended any of the marches throughout the country or saw pictures one thing was overtly apparent, many of the protesters were white. For some this was not an issue, but for others this raised an important question.

For example, Azealia Banks turned to Instagram to voice her thoughts. Now we all know Azealia stays wildin’, but she had some valid points. One being where were these white feminists last year when innocent black men were getting gunned down by the police? Black Lives Matter activist and black feminist had similar questions. Where were these white feminists and their supporters during the various Black Lives Matter protest? But it’s apparent where some of these women were, not out protesting. Leaving black women alone to fight for “our” own issues.

One woman who attended the march, whose photo went viral, Angela Peoples nicely illustrated why this is problematic during an interview with the Roots online magazine site. Angela expressed how the 53% of white women who voted for Trump “voted against self-interest to maintain their white supremacist way of life”. In other words, 53% of white women chose their white privilege when voting for Trump disregarding the negative implications a Trump presidency would have on their neighboring black feminist, women of color, and minorities overall. She states that white women need to recognize “they are implicit or complicit benefactors of systems like white supremacy and patriarchy” and not just recognize, but actively participate in dismantling these systems.

I understand that these women were not the result of a Trump presidency (Remember Hillary Clinton did win the popular vote by almost 3 million). However, it does challenge the degree in which white women are supporting women of color. This is not to attack white women because I definitely saw many women carrying black lives matter posters and anti Muslim registry posters. But it\’s important for white women to show that same support during Black Lives Matter protest and towards women of color because we are subjected to similar issues. It\’s important for white women to show up, support, empathize and unite with women of color. We clearly saw with the Women\’s March how such unity sent a message to the world and the Trump administration.

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